Entertainment

Quincy Jones' Startup Gamifies Your Piano Lessons

Imagine a way to learn piano that combines the enjoyability of Guitar Hero with the effectiveness of Rosetta Stone. That's the basic concept of Playground Sessions, a software product that officially launched Monday.

Playground Sessions has been in development for more than three years now. The project's co-founder and CEO Chris Vance says he got the idea by combining popular phenomena from 2009, including not only Guitar Hero and Rosetta Stone, but also American Idol and Khan Academy.

"We had this crazy idea: Could we do guitar hero with real instruments?" Vance tells Mashable. "Everyone still harbors that desire to be a rockstar; it's a universal truth that's never going to go away."

If you think this sounds like a great idea, you're not alone. So does 27-time Grammy Award winner Quincy Jones. The legendary music producer jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the project, and even purchased a minority share of the company.

"Quincy Jones actually reached out to us," Vance says.

Regarding Jones' involvement with the project, Vance describes him as sort of a spiritual guiding force. He oversees how the actual musical instruction will be implemented to a degree, but he mostly pushes the development team to ensure people will want to use their product because it is rewarding and fun.

"Music is the world’s common denominator, and there is nothing I am more passionate about than getting music and music instruction into the hands of children and adults who can benefit from its intangible magic," Jones said in a release. "Playground Sessions is the ultimate technology to bring music to people of all ages who have the passion to learn it.”

The program itself is based on a "play to learn" model that gets students playing popular songs right away, and uses those songs to teach music theory. Currently, the Playground Sessions song library features sheet music for about 90 songs, about half of which include an instructional video. Many of the songs also have accompaniment tracks so a student can feel what it's like to play with a full band.

In addition to the songs and song tutorials, there is also a "Bootcamp Library," which has lessons for players of all levels. Topics include keyboard skills, notation, playing by ear and rhythm. Lessons are separated into beginner, intermediate and advanced skill levels.

The software gamifies the learning process in several ways. First, it provides instant feedback, both on a note-by-note basis, and by giving a score for each song. Scores are tracked over time to monitor improvement. There is also a global leader board with the best scores of all time for each song. Along the way, students can earn badges by completing challenges.

Check out the gallery below to see Playground Sessions in action.

Playground Sessions UI

1. Playground Sessions

Playground Sessions attempts to teach theory and how to read music in a way that is enjoyable and focused on playing popular songs.

4. Playground Sessions

Regarding pricing, Playground Sessions comes at a cost. First, you will need a keyboard that connects to your computer. Then, there are several pricing options regarding the software itself. You can buy individual lessons and songs, or you can sign up for a membership for $10 per month for a year, or $15 per month for three months. Even with a membership, songs have to be bought individually, but members receive a significant discount.

The program is sleek and smooth, like you would expect from higher-end software. It allows you any number of different ways to customize your learning experience. You can focus on playing with one hand at a time, or even isolate a certain part of a song to practice on loop.

Would you use Playground Sessions to learn piano? Give us your thoughts in the comment section below.

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